


Past Tense, Present Tense

by violetstorm



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Snowball Fights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 09:50:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15361836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: Ienzo hates the snow, but maybe it can teach him something.





	Past Tense, Present Tense

**Author's Note:**

> somebody help these traumatized children o^o

It snows in Radiant Garden, yes, and when it does, it _snows._ The skies turn cloudy and gray as the world falls asleep under a thick, heavy blanket of glittering white snow. The streets of Radiant Garden, normally so loud and full of life, grow empty in the snow. Even the heartless shy away from the cold.

Ienzo was no different.

The basements were always too chilly and he’d have nowhere to escape to when Even would go on one of his long tirades about one thing or another. The colds he would come down with were even _worse_ , his sense of smell rendered completely useless. Ienzo hated it as a child, too. Braig would make a mess of the castle’s halls, trekking in slush and leaving windows open that made the castle _more_ drafty that it already was while Ansem the Wise would try _too_ hard to convince Ienzo to play outside.

Yes, Ienzo truly hated the snow.

But perhaps, what he hated more that that, was Myde for pulling him out into the castle’s gardens (or what should have been them, at least. It felt wrong to call empty flower beds a garden). Something about it being an “emergency.” _Sure_ , Ienzo had thought, but for some god-forsaken reason, he’d allowed himself to be dragged from his warm spot in the library to the outdoors where it was cold, cold, _cold._

To make it worse, the keybearers were there too. Islanders and all, though they _were_ shivering harder than the others. Lea, however, looked frustratingly warm.

There was a playful wave offered from Sora, Kairi, and Ventus, and an awkward wave from everybody else. Riku wasn’t even making eye-contact. Briefly, Ienzo wondered if Myde had dragged him outside to spite him. He was in the process of turning around when Lea spoke up.

“Can’t believe you actually managed to drag him out!”

_You and I both._

“Me neither! I dunno how I did it, but I did! Okay, Ienzo, you know the rules, right?”

Ienzo levelled Myde with a glare. “For _what,_ exactly?”

“Weren’t you even listening to me?”

“I was trying my hardest not to.”

Myde seemed unaffected by Ienzo’s quips, shrugging it off with a grin. “I told you, we’re having a snowball fight, and we needed one more person to even it out since there are only seven of us. _Please_ tell me you know what a snowball fight is.”

“I doubt it," Lea snorted, his red hair and black winter coat clashing heavily with the snow. "He doesn’t know how to do _anything_ fun."

_It would certainly be fun to cast a waterga spell over your head._

“I _do_ know what a snowball fight is, thank you for asking.”

“Great!” Myde said. “So then we can—”

“That does not mean that I will participate.”

Myde’s shoulders dropped as he pouted. Such a child. “ _Whaat?_ But we can’t have a three-on-four match. C’ _moon_ , Ienzo. We’ve already asked everybody else; you’re the only one we have!”

 _Brilliant. I’m your last resort_.

“ _Please,_ Ienzo? Just one time?” Ventus asked. He pulled off the puppy-dog eyes much better than Myde did, Ienzo had to admit.  _(Strange, seeing such an expression on Roxas' face— no, it was other way around, wasn't it?)_  If only it worked. 

“No.”

“ _Please?”_ Now it was Sora’s turn to ask. Funny, seeing the keyblade’s chosen beg.

“No.”

“Aw, geez, let’s just leave it be,” Lea massaged the back of his neck. “We’re never gonna convince him and it’s turning dark soon.”

“Don’t be rude, Lea!” Kairi chided. “We have plenty of time and besides, we haven’t even gone over all the rules. How does a snowball fight start, anyway?”

She asked it so innocently and Ienzo suppressed the urge to point out that even a _child_ would know the answer to that question, concluding that an islander wouldn’t know a thing about snow and he, who grew up in Radiant Garden, didn’t know the answer either.

Never had much of a childhood, after all. How unfortunate.

Evidently, Ventus was growing impatient, for he crouched low to the ground, gathering snow in his hands. “Like _this!”_ Ventus shouted and he launched a snowball at Kairi, what a gentleman. Kairi’s shriek of surprise nearly drowned out Ventus’ giggles as he dove behind a snowdrift, already preparing another snowball.

Roxas followed Ventus’ lead (twins, aren’t they), crafting a snowball in record time. He threw it at Sora, who only laughed and said, “Oh, it’s _on!”_

Myde let out a cheer, and ditched Ienzo’s side to join in. Soon, the air was filled with snowballs and laughter as the keybearers (oh, Myde’s there too) ran around the gardens and in and out of snowdrifts, apparently unaffected by the biting wind.

They hadn’t formally decided teams, but Ienzo noticed Lea flock to Roxas' side immediately and soon they were pelting Riku with snowballs (Roxas throwing a little harder than he should, if Ienzo had to be honest).

Riku called for Sora and Kairi to help, but they had these dangerous grins on and _oh._ That was a lot of snow going down Riku’s shirt, all accompanied by his poor, betrayed cries gave Ienzo more satisfaction than it should have. Ventus, as pure as ever, ran to his new friend’s aid and Myde was… oh, there he was, the top of his stupid mullet hair peeking out from behind a snowdrift. Doing… what, exactly? Nothing, most likely.

Ienzo watched it all from a distance, debating on leaving, wondering _why_ he hadn’t left yet. They had a war approaching and here the keybearers were, having a snowball fight. Ienzo scoffed at their foolishness, his breath wispy in the air.

Everything was so _cold_ and white and suddenly, to his side, Zexion noticed Axel sneaking up on him with his hands held into fists at his side, dressed in a black coat and Ienzo  _ ~~(Zexion..?)~~_ took a step back, arms raised high in defense before realizing that _no,_ that was _Lea_ and he was _Ienzo_ and they’re surrounded by white _snow (not the suffocating white walls of—)_ and now there was a pile of snow being dumped on his head.

_Thanks, Lea._

But, as Ienzo was Ienzo, he cried out in shock that morphed into a heated fury _(whereas Zexion would have responded with an icy, emotionless—)_ as he desperately brushed the cold off his head.

Lea’s laughter was _too_ loud as he turned to give ~~No. XIII~~ Roxas a thumbs-up, and really, it was his fault for not noticing Ienzo taking the opportunity to, with perfect aim, chuck a snowball that hit Lea directly in the back of his head.

The battleground grew  _silent_ , save for the wind blowing through the gardens as Ienzo realized what he just did. It was difficult to tell who looked the most shocked, though Ienzo was sure he had the highest chance of being the winner. The silence grew awkward and Ienzo was ready to hide himself away in an illusion until Myde’s voice pierced through the air.

“ _We got him! Ienzo’s on our side!”_

And Ienzo proceeded to find himself crammed behind a poorly made wall of snow with Myde, Ventus and Riku as they were pelted by an onslaught of snowballs. The former two gave him easy enough greetings, while Riku…

He gave Ienzo a strained sort of smile and Ienzo found himself staring into the eyes of a boy he broke down with his _(hypocritical)_ words, threw his failures back at him in an illusion, all with the intention to destroy him. A boy who, in the end, was no different than Ienzo and perhaps that was why Zexion found it so easy to find the right words that would strike the hardest.

“Ienzo, Riku! We’re gettin’ destroyed here, we need your help!”

Ventus was right. The others were relentless. Ienzo shook his head, tried his hardest to give Riku what he hoped was a smile _(his lips so unfamiliar with the sensation of one)_ and offered him a snowball.

Riku took it easily enough and then he and Ienzo were throwing snowballs side-by-side like nothing ever happened, like they were never once enemies. They made a good team, all of them, surprisingly and Ienzo found himself enjoying himself more than he should have. Immersing himself in the fight much like he would immerse himself in a book, Ienzo forgot, if even for a moment, that they were all fighting in a war.

Time passed quickly and Ienzo knelt down behind their wall to take a breather, taking a moment to survey his surroundings.

On one side, there was Riku, a keyblade master with a control over the darkness Zexion had never seen before. He was a boy who managed to quell Lexaeus in battle, escaped Zexion’s illusions and it was _his_ face that Zexion saw as he died.

Ventus, a teenager Ienzo met as a child and a teenager Ienzo met again, this time as an adult. A boy untouched by time with a heart devoid of darkness.

Then there was Myde, who Ienzo met as Demyx, an irresponsible, lazy man in the Organization with only his music for company, now a somebody and putting more effort into a snowball fight than all of his efforts combined during his life (if it could even be called that) as Demyx.

And on the other side was an assassin that instigated Zexion’s death and watched him die, a boy that never should have existed and yet _does,_ the hero of light who brought down the Organization himself and a girl Ienzo may have known, once upon a time, before he destroyed her homeland.

It was all so bizarre that Ienzo _laughed,_ earning him strange looks from the others. There was no use explaining, though, so when Ventus asked, “What is it?”, Ienzo simply replied with, “I’ve thought up a brilliant plan to guarantee our victory.”

* * *

 

His back was to the door of the kitchen, but he recognized Even’s footsteps easily enough. With nothing more than a nod to acknowledge Even’s presence, Dilan continued to dice the vegetables in front of him.

Even began to rummage through some cupboards, long enough for Dilan to sense something was off, a faint memory trickling back into his mind.

_(The echo of footsteps down the hall, joined by faint muttering. “Where is he? Has he forgotten about the experiment? No, it’s impossible. He must be…”)_

“Were you not looking for Ienzo?” Dilan asked suddenly. “Did you not find him?”

Even looked up, in his hands a packet of instant-coffee. “Oh, I found him, yes. But I decided to leave him be.” He set some water to boil as if that was the most normal, mundane thing to say.

Dilan’s knife slipped, nearly slicing off his finger. _Even,_ prioritizing something over one of his experiments? That was unheard of. Dilan’s confusion must have shown clear on his face, for Even said, “Go and see the castle’s gardens for yourself.”

As Even left the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee in hand, Dilan swore he saw the faintest hint of a smile. All-too curious, Dilan left the kitchen, venturing through the castle, taking the quickest path to the garden. The sounds of chatter and laughter grew louder as he approached, yet it was nothing out of the ordinary. Why had Even told him to visit the castle gardens?

Dilan stepped outside of the castle, into the cold and he was greeted by what was perhaps the strangest sight he had ever seen. The keybearers, plus some, were having a snowball fight. The keybearers and Myde were having a snowball fight, including _Ienzo. Ienzo,_ of all people, who had what was perhaps the closest thing to glee he had ever shown and most likely will show in his life.

“I wonder how they managed to convince him,” a voice said from Dilan’s side. It was Aeleus, walking towards him. Dilan looked back to Ienzo, who narrowly avoided a snowball thrown from Roxas. Sora was in the process of building a wall made out of snow when Riku jumped onto the wall, completely demolishing it. All in good-nature, if their grins were anything to go by.

“They’re like children,” Dilan pointed out.

“They still are.”

“I hardly think Ienzo, Myde or Lea can be considered _children._ The others are not too far off, either. Why, nobody would be a child after what they have experienced.”

“That’s exactly why they’re doing this,” Aeleus responded smoothly, gaze fixated on the snowball fight. “They have been fighting a war against the darkness their entire life. They’ve never had the opportunity to be a child.”

 _Ah. So that's what this was about._ Dilan knew for a certainty that Ienzo never had much of a childhood. No, he was busy making sure Lea and that other boy didn’t have one either, and it was thanks to him and the rest of Ansem’s apprentices _(did they still have the right to call themselves that?)_ that Sora, Kairi and Riku didn’t have theirs either.

“I suppose. Those childish impulses of theirs… perhaps they never truly died alongside their innocence.”

“Only stifled, waiting until it was safe to come out.”

“Could they not have chosen a day when they were not supposed to be training?”

“Will you stop them?”

Ienzo _(a boy Dilan saw experiment so cruelly on what seemed like hundreds of people— or perhaps it_ was _indeed hundreds)_ was pushed into a snowbank by Riku _(who killed the very man Dilan stood beside)_ , but he came up with a smile. Lea _(Axel, who Dilan threatened to kill under orders of Xemnas if he didn’t betray his friend)_ and Kairi shared a high-five as Ventus _(Dilan hadn’t realized, over ten years ago, how important he was)_   yelled, “That’s cheating! You said we couldn’t use magic!”

_They've never had the opportunity to be a child._

“...No. They deserve this much.”

**Author's Note:**

> erm. I don't know why Myde is there, honestly. I hope it wasn't too random..? (´-﹏-`；) 
> 
> Let's just say he was there because... Terra and Aqua were... too adult-like to fit in with the whole "they're kids" thing going on..? Yeah.. yeah, that sounds good. :>
> 
> The bit about Myde putting more effort into the snowball fight than anything else Ienzo had seen him do, despite Demyx being a lazy shit, is because I wanted to toy with the idea that perhaps Demyx only works hard for things he really enjoys or believes is worth his time. There was that one moment in the Days manga where, after he learns that Roxas wants to go on a vacation with Axel and Xion, says "I'll work hard, too!" so that they could get a vacation. "Lazy," hm?
> 
> Anyways, I got this idea at 2am the other night (and stayed up until 3:30am making a rough draft -w-) and originally, it was going to be written in present-tense, so I apologize if there is any accidental tense switching. (and sorry for the title-- it is 2am as I am posting this and I think my creativity has died on me).
> 
> By the by, KH was the thing that got me into reading fanfiction and now, over 8 years later, have I written my first KH fic that I'm posting online. Cheers~!
> 
> Thank you for reading until here ♥


End file.
